Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 9

The sun was far too hot; it seemed to be even hotter than he remembered. He had travelled the world, and been to places that were hot but for some reason returning here the blazing sun seemed to be the worst he'd encountered. Potitus Olcinus Cinna wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked around. His Army were rushing around, making preparations. Some were building siege equipment, others sharpening weapons. Some were grouped together, laughing at something or someone that the General could not see. The General had an idea at what they were laughing at, but was debating whether or not he should step in. He stood and pondered this thought for a moment before the words that his Emperor had said came back to him. Strolling over to the group of soldiers he discovered that the source of their amusement was kicking their captive, making his injuries bleed.

"Alright men." Cinna called, "You've had you fun. Get back to work; we have a city to take."

The Legionnaires gave a quick salute before hurrying away. Lying on the sand was the Egyptian Prince; he had a hand to his newly bleeding nose. His other injuries were bleeding as well, especially the long gash to his face. It was gift from the Roman Gods that the Prince had survived the journey, the amount of blood he had lost from the Gladiator could have killed him but he survived. The result of that was that the Prince had been weakened by this so his resistance to his capturers was hardly a bother to them. They could overpower him easily, without breaking a sweat. Cinna pulled the Prince to his feet with such force that the Prince almost fell back down. Keeping a firm grip on the Prince's scarred wrists; Cinna pulled the Prince behind as he marched off. Locating some rope the General bound the Prince's wrists together, the last thing they needed was for the brat to run off.

With the Prince bound like a dog the General went on to inspect all of the preparations, whilst pulling the bound prince behind him. Every inch of the Prince's body screamed at having to walk but there was not a lot he could do about that. Trying to ignore his pain Atem looked around as he was forced to follow; he knew that they were in his people's lands. He also had an idea as to what was about to happen, but he was powerless to do anything. There was a sharp tug on the rope, but the Prince's body objected to being tugged forwards so the Prince fell forwards facedown into the sand. There was laughter as the Romans took pleasure in the Prince's pain. The Prince pushed himself onto his elbow, spitting bloody sand out of his mouth. The gashes to his face were still bleeding. He wasn't sure how much longer he could deal with the Romans. He had no idea how long he had been with his captors now but he was sure it had been a very long time.

"Get up." The General snapped, "Get up Little Rat, we are ready begin."

Atem was forced to his feet by a nearby commander. A hooded cloak was forced on him, which he did not object to. For some reason it made him feel less vulnerable and after all he had been through this was something he would make the most of. His bound hands were tied to the General's horse as around him the many soldiers prepared to move out. There were literally thousands of them, all eager to get going. How were his people going to stand up to them? The Prince knew that his people had nothing to stop them. This couldn't be There was a sharp tug on his wrists, as he was forced to follow behind the General's horse. All that could be heard were the sounds of an army on the march. Atem stumbled along in the horse's wake; he knew it was over… all over.

Aknamkanon stood outside the city walls, waiting for the Romans to make their appearance. He was struggled to keep his anxiety hidden, he was not sure whether this was going to work. This golden pyramid was supposed to have the power to summon great beasts, according to his brother. Standing beside him were six other people, they weren't speaking. All of them were just waiting, waiting for the appearance of the Romans. Aknadin placed a hand on his brother's shoulder;

"Just wait brother. After this we will be the most feared nation."

"These items are only to be used to protect our people." Aknamkanon said, "It is also to get my son back."

Aknadin stared at his brother; he could not believe that his brother was no taken by the idea that their nation would be the most feared on the Earth. This was a good thing; nobody would mess with them again after this. Also, he was going crazy over his brother fixation on getting his son back. The Prince was most likely dead, if he wasn't and they recovered then that was just a bonus. He was about to speak to his brother but then he spotted something on the horizon. It was the Romans. They had finally arrived. Aknadin smirked, preparing himself. The Egyptians watched the Romans spread out into a long line. Even though the Romans were still far away from them but the Egyptians could hear their laughter. Obviously, they could see that there were only seven Egyptians against three whole Roman Legions. There were jeers from the Romans as they teased their enemy. Aknamkanon rolled his shoulders back; his eyes scanned the Roman lines as he hoped that he might spot his son. But as far as he could see his son was not there. What if his son was dead? What would he do? Aknamkanon took a breath, he could not think about that. His son was alive and this is would save him. The Romans were marching forwards, battle cries could be heard. The Pharaoh stepped forwards raising a hand in the air.

"Great Beasts, I call upon you. Aid us in this fight. Please protect the people of his land."

The Golden Eye on the Pyramid lit up, along with the other eyes on the other six items. The light got brighter; it blinded the Romans which slowed their march towards them. The Romans did not stop marching but the light was so unnatural that it did put them on edge slightly. All of a sudden enormous beasts burst into sky. Huge dragons filled the sky, along with a great many winged beasts. Their appearance made the Romans halt in their tracks; all eyes were locked on the beasts that were currently circling the sky. For a few minutes the beasts only circled the sky and with this lack of action caused the Roman General to rally his troops, calling for them to attack. That was when all hell broke loose. As the Romans rushed forwards, the beasts dived. They were heading straight towards the Romans. It was a truly terrifying sight, enough to break the famously unbreakable Roman morale. They broke, turned tail and ran. The beasts swooped down, absolutely wrecking the Romans. Some fell straight to the ground, whereas others were thrown high into the air. Potitus Olcinus Cinna, who was still astride his horse, stared up in horror. Around him were the cries of his men as they attempted to flee. It would be foolish to rally them, they would not rally. Cinna spurred his horse, fleeing the battlefield. The horse turned so quickly that the piece of rope attached to the side of the saddle broke sending the bound captive to the ground. For a long time the only thing that could be heard were the cries of the Romans. But all of a sudden an eerily silence fell. No sound what so ever.

Only one person moved. The Captured Prince raised himself to his elbows. His whole body hurt, his recent wounds bleeding once more. He could feel the blood oozing from the wound on his face. Looking around he could see many Roman soldiers but they were not moving. Atem struggled to his feet, continuing to look around. It appeared that he was the only person around, no Romans what so ever. Turning Atem saw his home, the city was in sight. This might be his only chance to get home as the Romans were likely to return. But first he needed to free his wrists; the rope was so tight that it was cutting off the circulation to his hands. As he stumbled in the direction of the city, he came across the sword of a fallen Roman soldier. The blade easily sliced through the ropes around his wrists. Atem massaged his scarred and freshly bruised wrists and continued to stumble towards the city. His energy was draining fast but he somehow managed to get to the gates. He put a hand to the gate, hoping that it would open. But the gates were locked shut. Atem let out a groan of frustration, he was so close. There had to be a way to get the gates open. But it seemed that the Gods had given their luck to the Prince as he heard voices on the other side.

"Did you hear that?"

"I did, I reckon it's a Roman solider. Don't open the gate."

Atem banged on the gate; "Open the gate. It's the Prince. Please open the gate."

The Guards behind the gate hesitated for a long while before deciding to take a chance. The gate opened slowly and two guards appeared. Shock was clear in their faces as they recognised their Prince.

"My Prince!" They cried, looking at the tired, injured state of their Prince.

Atem was ushered into the city, the gates slamming shut behind him.

"My Prince, you're alive!"

The Prince nodded, relief that he had made it taking hold.

"We must get you to a healer, my Prince, you're hurt." The Guard said, taking hold of one of the Prince's arms.

"No." Atem said, "Please. Take me to my father."

The Guards exchanged a look before complying with the Prince wishes. They led the Prince towards the palace. The hooded cloak that he was still wearing helped to shield him from onlookers. Atem was grateful for this as the last thing he wanted at the moment was to have everyone staring at him. He just wanted to get to his father. The Palace came into view, nothing about it had changed. He had been gone nearly a year but everything was as it had been before. Although the hole that the Romans had made had been repaired. At the gates Atem was handed over to the Palace Guards who were just as shocked to see their Prince.

The Prince and Guards hurried into the Throne Room and Atem got the first glimpse of his father. The Pharaoh was pacing, obviously not happy about something. Well, that was about to change.

"My Pharaoh!" The Guards called.

Aknamkanon looked round, he saw two guards accompanying a figure in a hooded cloak.

"I will not receive any Romans." He said, turning away.

But then a very familiar voice came to him;

"Father?"

Aknamkanon turned; the hooded figure was lowering his hood. Tears swelled as his son's face came into view. He was alive. He was here. No one moved for a moment. Father and Son just looked at one another. Aknamkanon took in every injury that his son had, it was clear to him that the Romans had tortured his dear son. But he was here! The Pharaoh could wait no longer; he rushed forwards and embraced his son. He felt his son returning the embrace which made him tighten the embrace. The tears were running freely down his face, his body trembling slightly. After nearly an entire year his son was back. He could feel his clothing dampening which told him that his son was also crying. For a long time the two did not move, but eventually Aknamkanon broke the hug. He looked in the face of his son, wiping away the blood mixed tears on his face. It was clear that the Prince was exhausted and in pain. Aknamkanon traced the gash to his son's face with his eyes, it was bleeding slightly.

"Oh, my son. What did they do to you?"

Atem shared a small smile, he didn't know what to say and honestly all he wanted to do was sleep. Apparently, his father had spotted this as a moment later he and his father were walking towards his bedroom. His room was exactly the same as when he left it. His bed still messy from where he had last left it. Atem crawled on to it, this was the first time he would have slept in a bed in a long time. His exhausted body caved in and he was asleep before his head had hit the pillow. The Pharaoh planted a kiss on his son's forehead. He left the room, intent on finding a healer. Instead he found Shimon outside.

"Fetch the healer."

Hours later Aknamkanon emerged from his son's room. The healers had cleaned and bandaged the Prince's wounds. He had been told that whilst the Prince's wounds were serious he was going to recover. He was relived; his son was alive and safe. Intent of having a sleep after an emotional day Aknamkanon moved away, but on his way to his own room he bumped into his brother.

"Are you happy brother? You have your son back." Aknadin asked.

It was clear that Aknadin did not mean that in a good way.

"You never cease to surprise me brother." Aknamkanon replied, "Of course I am happy to have my child back. You would be to."

"I would not be happy if I were you. Not after I tell you what you allowed me to do."

Aknamkanon frowned, "What do you mean?"

"The Millennium Items. I had to sacrifice ninety nine souls to create the and you allowed me to do this. Their blood is on your hands, brother."

Aknadin strolled away from his brother, a smirk on his face. The Pharaoh watched him go; he could not believe what he had just heard. The shock and guilt paralysed him to the spot. Ninety Nine people were killed to make the object around his neck. It could not be. How did he allow this to happen? How would he live with himself?

As the future Monarch's health improved, the reigning Monarch's deteriorated. He was bed bound by his illness. His most frequent visitor was his son, who would spend the whole day there only to be forced to leave at night. Atem leant against the wall, gazing at his father. He could not believe that after being away from his father for so long, that he might lose him. They had barely had any time together since he had come back. The wounds that the Romans had inflicted on him were healing nicely. Even the large gash on his face was healing nicely, but he could not rejoice in his returning strength as he was worried for his father. Atem sighed, dropped his head. But a nearby voice made him look up.

"Atem? Come here my boy."

It was his father calling. Atem walked over and sat on the bed. Aknamkanon looked at Atem;

"I am not long for his world, my boy. I am sorry we did not get much time since you returned. Know that I am proud of you. Remember to protect our people, but be kind and respect them. Remember that."

"Father, stop! You will get better."

Aknamkanon smiled sadly and motioned for his son to come closer. The Prince lay down next to his father, feeling the latter's arm around him lightly stroking his back. They said nothing more, both enjoying the other's company. After a while both slipped off to sleep.

The next thing that Atem knew was that he was being woken by Shimon. Shimon spoke in a calm, gentle tone. Atem knew what had happened. He looked at his father. His face was still and pale. His Father was dead; he was the new Pharaoh now. Tears slid down his face. The New Pharaoh refused to leave his Father's side for hours. Eventually he had to be forced to leave and placed in his own room. Atem lay on the bed, in his arms was the golden pyramid. Tears continued to fall. The past year had been hell; he had thought that it was all over. Apparently not. Life had one more thing to throw at him. The New Pharaoh continued to shed tears until he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. At the beginning of the year he had been The Captured Prince, now he was ending it as the Pharaoh. The Romans had destroyed his life, he was all alone now. There was no one left in his family, he was the only member now. But he would keep his word to his father. He would be a kind ruler, he would respect and protect the people of the land. That was his duty now... as the New Pharaoh.

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Ok, I wasn't really sure how to stop so apologies for the sudden stop!

Apologies for the delay, a certain Assassin's Creed Syndicate came out and took all my attention. PLUS! The final year at University is really full on and needs my attention!

I hope you enjoyed the story!

Thanks to everyone for reading/reviewing/following/faviourting!

Final thoughts are very welcome! So Please Review!

I don't know if I will post another story. Life is getting in the way so I need to give it my attention! Don't worry I will still be active on here! Reading and Reviewing! So feel free to chat to me!

Thanks for sticking with me all this time guys! You guys are awesome!

Peace out!

~RedRosePetal